YOUR Social Media Brand Engagement Data Science?

Too many organizations maintain a Facebook page, at times without much thought about strategy..

Small business and non-profit social media managers typically squeeze in posts around many other job duties. Still, I think much can be learned from those developing the art and science of social business goals, objectives and tactics.

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Brian Massey, founder and managing partner at Conversion Sciences, focuses on business website performance data analysis. “The Conversion Scientist” (complete with his lab coat seen in my recent interview and during an eMetrics Summit presentation last summer) explores the marketing funnel – from lead generation through the optimization of the conversion process.

Related Article: YOUR Social Media Listening Power?

“Quality leads,” he says, allow marketers to “use a combination of user testing and A/B testing to prioritize and refine those ideas.” Improvement is defined as those tweaks that increase business revenue. It involves a constant process of innovation to respond to market changes driven by social media and other forces.

As I have noted in earlier blog posts, mobile smartphones are a location-based sensor constantly measuring contextual consumer behavior. From inexpensive content testing panels to big data pools, entrepreneurs are developing new tools to help marketers.

We’re talking about someone who understands how to evaluate data, how to collect data, how to make decisions based on the data they’re collecting, and integrate that into their design process.

Facebook target advertising offers social marketers access to millions of potential customers based upon demographic and psychographic filters. For businesses, that translates into qualified prospects. For non-profit and local government organizations, targeting is an efficient way to reach interested citizens, raise issue awareness, and spark new community engagement.

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Success on Facebook, though, requires advertising experiments and effective “landing experiences” on websites, Massey says. Instead of “spray and pray” blasts, “marketers have to embrace this experimentation culture.”

You may not be ready to wear a lab coat, but Massey makes a good point about Facebook targeting as, “interrupt advertising, as opposed to search, which is intent-driven based on the keywords that are entered.” A strategic campaign integrates words, site design and images, brand management and data. In short, we need to embrace granular, contextual data.

The beauty of testing is that it allows a creative team to respond to data by developing bolder campaigns, Massey says. “We can take those risks because we’re doing it with user testing and small experiments.”

A recent ObservePoint 2017 Analytics Summit made this clear. James McCormick, Forrester Research principal analyst, emphasized that strategic metrics should be coordinated through standards and best practices. Optimization of key performance indicators (KPIs), are grounded in digital intelligence platforms. Understanding “digital touch-points,” he has written, should lead to “optimizing and perfecting experiences delivered and decisions made by brands during moments of engagement.”

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Meanwhile, Massey focuses on site personalized visitor touch-points that locate someone at a place within the marketing funnel. It makes a difference, if a person seeks information, brand engagement, or price discounts. Artificial intelligence (AI) and the use of chat-bots work better for some functions than others. Massey asks, “What is the experience once they click?”

"These devices can be used to manipulate rather than persuade. We want to persuade, not manipulate. So, the more people we have that take on experience experimentation culture, the more diversity we have. I think it will ensure that we have a higher ethical bar of people who are using this data."

Massey says the data trend should not “scare you away from getting excited about the creative part of the job.” Social media marketers will need AI training to do the job five years from now, he adds.

Consider an email subject line. Data scientists can help marketers improve results. “I’ve got to sit down and use it on a daily basis to answer questions.”

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For now, email and Facebook continue to be the primary way to reach people. “Instagram is probably the next frontier,” Massey says. Likewise, Pinterest can be effective. Increasingly, Facebook and YouTube video also are in the mix.

To some extent, the traditional marketing approach distinguishes use of social media from effective Instagram and Snapchat brand influencer campaigns. These sites, along with Twitter, started behind Facebook in offering targeted marketing data. Massey also is keeping an eye on Amazon and its integration of products and user data. “Every campaign is an experiment,” he says. “If we can embrace that experimentation culture, we have the tools, we have the data. We just have to sit down and ask questions that we can answer with data.”

Guest Authored By Dr. Jeremy Harris Lipschulz. Jeremy is a professor in the UNO Social Media Lab, School of Communication, University of Nebraska at Omaha. He is author of Social Media Communication: Concepts, Practices, Data, Law and Ethics, second edition (2018, 2015). Dr. Lipschultz has published books and scholarly articles on media, law, new communication technologies, social media and education. He has been a frequent media source for outlets, such as WGN, NPR, the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, the Omaha World-Herald, KFAB, and others. Follow Professor Jeremy on X.

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For now, Instagram, email and Facebook continue to be the primary way to reach people. “Instagram is probably the next frontier.

Likewise, Pinterest can be effective. Increasingly, Facebook and YouTube video also are in the mix.."

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Scottsdale, AZ. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

The Art Of Winning Social Media Conversions?

Advertisers frequently reference the magic of social media as a way to boost conversions and engagement in consumers..

And, in fact, social media has evolved into the go-to solution for helping users locate niche products and be persuaded to take the plunge (convert).

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Some of the biggest platforms -- X, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, -- are associated with some of the biggest and most consistent of these conversions.

One big reason for social media's success in this regard is its similarity, in today's digital age, to the marketing and sales procedures that ruled the traditional pre-internet era: In those years, the best salespeople commonly focused on building a relationship and trust with customers first before they began dropping hints about their product in the context of an "advisory" role.

In short, these salespeople didn't suddenly jump from making a contact to selling the product outright. So, the argument could be made that social media continues this tradition. It too builds a relationship and trust in an audience or clientele as a way to prime them for conversion.

Studies support this notion: According to Instagram's own reports, 80 percent of people who use the platform already follow a business. Also, those that already follow a brand or business are more inclined to be engaged with, and increase awareness about, that business. What's going on here is people's trust in "social proof": It's something customers look for in order to make decisions.

How can your business make use of this psychology? Here are some of the easiest ways to capitalize on it and get more conversions via social media:

Related Article: YOUR Social Media Listening Power?

1. Create unique content for each specific platform you target.

Much the way applicants submit supplementary essays when applying to multiple colleges, you should create content for, and gear it to, the specific audience expectations of the media platform you're targeting. Writing content that is native to a platform greatly increases the chances that its audience will accept it.

2. Use more than just links to promote your content.

When you post on platforms like Facebook or Instagram, you cannot rely only on a stream of links to boost your conversion rates. As noted before, hard-selling customers quickly turns them off to a business. To avoid giving your audience this negative impression on social media, you should promote your business by providing meaningful, interesting content users think is fun and genuine.

3. Keep track of your traffic.

As a basic rule of thumb, know which links and outlets are attracting the greatest amounts of traffic to your business's commercial pages. There are a ton of resources that can help you simplify this monitoring process, like Google's URL builder, which helps you capture important data about a specific link in the name of the link itself.

Related Article: Master Marketer Social Media Stratagies?

4. Know whom to target.

There are a number of ways to do this. Keep in mind that these methods should be designed to fit one platform, to produce the best results. Look at the sample platform, Instagram. In order to track the prime influencers in your niche, you might use a service like Ninja Outreach. Ninja Outreach specializes in finding influencers based on data associating certain keywords and their relevance and popularity on the platform of certain influencers.

5. Leverage existing professional relationships with marketers and influencers.

If you have a good working relationship with a number of marketers and influencers already, you can easily ask them to throw you a bone every now and then through a Twitter post or Facebook tag. First, think of relatively inexpensive things that marketers and influencers can do. Then, just reach out and ask them to mention your business in a tweet or tag back to your business in a relevant Facebook post.

While that may appear like a small gesture, it actually makes a huge difference in helping promote lead generations for your business.

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6. Provide an easy, discreet log-in system.

So, users have begun clicking on your promotional link: Now, what? If you're thinking ahead a few steps, you should realize that making them feel welcome and providing a convenient medium for them to purchase through is key to increasing conversions. The easiest way to do this is to set up a social login system which lets users sign-up with a Facebook or Google+ account. Make it a point to not slam the login request in the face of a user with an involuntary pop-up or fade, as this may drive away inquisitive users with low commitment.

7. Make your checkout process simple.

If you make a checkout process too complex or long, you may find that users who'd intended to buy a product will change their mind halfway through. You want to keep their enthusiasm and interest for your product going strong as they fill in credit card details or a PayPal address. Having a payment system in place that can process a number of different mediums while being clean and efficient will greatly expedite the payment process. The less time that users spend in the waiting line, the less time they'll have to reconsider or second-guess a purchasing choice.

What can your site do to help you improve the conversion rates for your business?

Guest Authored By AJ Agrawal. AJ He is CEO and Co-Founder of Alumnify, an alumni-engagement platform. He's a Growth Marketer, Entrepreneur and Content Creator for Entrepreneur, Forbes, FastCompany and Fortune Magazine. Follow AJ on Twitter.

Related Article: Social Media Marketing Best Practices?

There are two main actions to consider when you're trying to get more conversions through social media:

The first is tracking social analytics; and the second is ensuring that your website and landing pages have strong calls-to-action and smooth account systems in place to attract and retain new customers..

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

Master Marketer Social Media Stratagies?

Most people who have their businesses' on social media are looking hard for answers to solutions for more traffic, engagement and conversions to build their brand..

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While great social media strategies don't simply fall off a truck in front of your doorstep, you don't have to make it any harder than it should be.

Nathan Pirtle, social media/digital marketing specialist and founder of Work With The Coach, is one person who snatched his success from the hands of fate. Pirtle became a hard core marketer because he wasn't looking for someone else's answers, he was looking for his own. These five important tips from his personal strategy can help your brand on social media.

1. Stop Being A Robot

There's a program and an app for everything you want to do with your social marketing, from analytics data to auto posting and direct messaging. While these are important aspects to your digital marketing business, at some point you need to make sure these robots aren't the primary source of your social media activity.

One thing Pirtle is direct in announcing is his approach to being personal with people on social media. Sure, your auto-posting social media tool is helping you stay relevant and seen, but it's not replying to people, nor is it responding to someone's questions in real time. In short, these are mistakes which can share negative messages to your audience.

People want conversation and engagement from your brand -- from the real you. Don't allow your brand to be controlled by these automated sources because it doesn't portray your true personality. Don't get me wrong, it's okay to use these tools because you're a smart marketer. However, because you are a smart marketer, you will understand when to pull back on the reins and allow a more personal touch.

2. Provide Real Content

Your brand pages and accounts need to understand what your audience enjoys. For Pirtle, it was a plethora of motivational, helpful and funny pictures or memes to get his audience engaging with his brand on a continual basis. He also advises the best way to attract more people with real content on your social account is by keeping your house (your social account) clean and orderly. If it is, people will want to stick around and listen to what you have to say.

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The rule of sharing is 80/20. This means 80 percent of the time, you're sharing content to either help, entertain and/or motivate your audience. The 80 percent has nothing to do with your brand at all. It's all about your customers and what they enjoy.

If you're having a hard time finding out what your audience is into -- let's use Facebook for this example -- you can take a look at Facebook Audience Insights. Simply type in a couple of interests you're looking for, and it will supply you with other brand pages, like yours, who are killing it with real content. Take some tips out of their playbook, and offer some similar posts on your page.

3. Learn To Follow In Order To Lead

Most people want to have a million followers, but they don't want to follow multiple people or accounts. It just doesn't work that way. To create a large social media following with real results, you need to be both a leader and a follower of people. "You have to know how to follow in order to be able to lead, so follow everyone who is relevant to your business," Pirtle said.

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Don't reject the idea of engaging with people. This is going to help your business in the long run because people will always remember a helpful conversation. Once you learn to follow the most relevant people to your brand, and you consistently give them help and guidance, you will soon find yourself leading these people. Don't be shy to follow.

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4. Measure Success From Engagement

There are lots of ways to measure your success on social media. Stats from analytics to learn different things about your social media accounts is a great way to build your business. However, Pirtle always measured his success based on the social engagement his brand was acquiring every day on social media.

How many people are interacting with you on a consistent basis? Learn who the key players are and who always seems to be there when you share. Anytime anyone likes, comments, retweets, etc., you should take notice, and respond to those people.

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One great way to measure success within each campaign is to set a specific goal within your brand. Perhaps you want to set a goal of 50 signups on Facebook or Twitter. You also would like to see 25 comments and at least 15 shares. These are personal engagement goals you should make for each update your brand does.

KISSmetrics shares a very helpful article on how you can measure each step of your engagement, and they include metrics of engagement like awareness, engagement, drive traffic, finding advocates and fans, and your brand's voice measurement.

It's important to understand and establish a set of goals in which you can measure your engagement success on your social platform of choice. Not all social networks are the same. The people may be the same, but their behaviors on each platform are different. You want to understand the behaviors of each person on your social platform of choice. It will help you provide the best possible content for them in the future.

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5. Build The Relationship

There is no social marketing tip any stronger than this -- build the relationship. This is pretty much self explanatory, and while it seems pretty hard to do, most people are susceptible to your brand on social media, providing you're not trying to hard sell them right out of the gate.

Relationship marketing creates brand loyalty and an avenue for other people like the one with whom you just built a relationship with. You spend the time, build the relationship, and establish the trust. In turn, this builds a bridge between someone who doesn't know you and your brand with the person you just created this with. You see how important it is? The reach of relationships is powerful marketing within your social community, and you should be taking advantage of it every day.

Guest Authored By Jennifer Spencer. Jennifer is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Energent Media, a digital branding agency focused on helping entrepreneurs share their stories on top podcasts. She is a passionate storyteller, online marketer and social media specialist. Follow Jennifer on Twitter.

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There are all kinds of social media strategies you should want to try out, but these five are the most important ones to always remember to do consistently.

You have a brand name to protect and an audience who wants to learn all they can about you.

Just like Pirtle, when you invest your time, money and knowledge into your audience, you will reap superb results with these strategies.."

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)

YOUR Live Event Social Media?

Social media has become the main place for people to share their experience of events as they happen..

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In 2016, the top 10 most tweeted moments in the UK all occurred during football matches, from fans tweeting about teams losing to the mass celebration of last minute goals.

It’s become second nature for many of us to take to social media to enhance a shared experience. It helps us construct our own experience of the event. It can also be rewarding for brands and creators who get to chat with individuals and experience their genuine, instant reaction to what’s happening.

By focusing on key procedures, processes and people, brands can do their best to ensure the live events they’re involved in are a success. If you’re planning a live event, here are my steps for successful social media amplification.

Procedures

Step 1: Create Guidelines (and follow them)

Clear guidelines provide consistency of content and response. Larger events and longer campaigns will have a variety of people or teams working on them – they need to be enforcing the rules fairly and consistently.

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Keep a living document of content examples to help other members of the team respond in the moment. Keep the guidelines too vague – such as a simple ‘no swearing’ or ‘no bullying’ – and you’re setting yourself up for trouble. People have varying definitions of bad language and different markers for the differences between debate and hectoring.

If rules aren’t applied consistently, the brand risks looking like it’s taking sides, when really there’s just been a shift change and Erica lets a lot more slide than Jimmy.

Processes

Step 2: Keep An Eye On The Big Picture

It can be difficult to see the campaign (or event) as a whole when you’re in the middle of managing the live social response. Even if you can’t work from an actual social media war room, keep a screen or two free to display the overview of the live chat.

Depending on the event, you may need to divide roles. For example, if you’re running a live demo, have one member of the team talking to the audience, answering questions in live chat and picking out questions for the presenters to answer, while the team running the demo can focus on creating entertaining and informative content. You may even have another person behind the scenes helping to moderate the live chat.

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Step 3: Choose (and use) The Right Tools For The Job

Big campaigns need content management tools that let you moderate and manage content efficiently. Tools that are flexible enough to allow for instant content modification and deletion, but that can be customised to suit the content management needs of the brand (you might want it to support pre-moderation of content, for example).

People

Step 4: Choose Your Team Based On Experience, Mindset And Training

Great community management isn’t just about hiring those with the most experience. It’s about finding the person with relevant experience and the adaptability to handle managing a live experience.

Managing the social media response to a live event – be it a live-stream run by a brand or managing a community of fans responding to a live TV show – is stressful. Community managers and moderators need to be able to cope with split second decision-making and thinking on their feet, without caving under the pressure.

The team also must have a solid understanding of the brand’s values, and the ultimate goal of the campaign. It helps if they have a good understanding, not only of what the brand does, but why its fans are so passionate about it.

Step 5: Foster Collaboration In The Live Events Team

Running a live event is draining. It’s like staging a play – you need your team present and invested in making the event a success. People feed off each other’s energies and rely on each other for support and reassurance.

Having the whole team in one location allows them to adapt to evolving situations. Communication becomes simpler as people can use the extra information that body language and tone of voice provides to get a complete picture of the situation.

Don’t isolate the social team – have them working in the same space as the producers, creators and the comms team, all of whom may have ideas on how to change content based on the live response.

Step 6: Keep Strong Lines Of Communication

Everyone needs to be in the room, even if they’re not in the same country. If it’s an event with international appeal (the Olympics, for example), establish stable communication in preparation for the event and follow the structure for managing social media globally.

When my teams run Polpeo’s live crisis simulations, they keep in touch throughout the simulation via instant messenger. They share real-time feedback on how the participants are performing, and assess whether or not they need to up the ante.

For live campaigns, the audience may seem happy and engaged when you take a look at the live chat, but how many negative posts have the moderators had to delete? Perhaps it’s the same small group of people chatting, and the majority of viewers just aren’t participating. Without talking to the moderators and the community managers, you can’t get a true picture of the response.

Step 7: Keep The Discussion Going

Live events are best thought of as the instigating event. Tweeting may spike when a goal is scored, but fans will continue to discuss the match after the final whistle. Once people are interested, it’s likely that some will want to keep the discussion going.

Successful live events keep the discussion going when the event is over. That means keeping a few community managers working after the event is over, even if it’s out of hours.

Guest Authored By Tamara Littleton. Tamara is CEO and founder of social media agency The Social Element and a contributor to Econsultancy. Follow Tamara on Twitter.

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When live events are well-managed and moderated, they can be great experiences for brands and fans alike.

Hosting a live event can be a brilliant way engage audiences and generate buzz beyond the brand’s existing fan community..

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  Authored by:

  Fred Hansen Pied Piper of Social Media Marketing at YourWorldBrand.com & CEO of Millennium 7 Publishing Co. in Loveland, Colorado. I work deep in the trenches of social media strategy, community management and trends.  My interests include; online business educator, social media marketing, new marketing technology, skiing, hunting, fishing and The Rolling Stones..-Not necessarily in that order ;)